‘My father did not beat Zeenat Aman, it’s bulls**t: Farah Khan Ali says Sanjay Khan married his ‘Abdullah’ co-star through a Muslim ritual, reveals how mother Zarine Khan dealt with it

There were rumours of Sanjay Khan and Zeenat Aman getting married in 1978. Several rumours also suggested that Khan had beaten up Zeenat Aman which ended up in getting her eye hurt. At that point when Sanjay was attracted to the actress, he was already married with Zareen Khan and had children. In a recent interview, Sanjay’s daughter Farah Khan Ali has strongly reacted to these rumours and refuted them. While she confirmed that her father was married to Zeenat Aman, she denied him ever beating her up. When asked about her father’s relationship with Zeenat Aman, she said in an interview with Vickey Lalwani, “I was very young at that point so I don’t have very strong memories. I was 9-10 years old that time. But I just want to say that this fake story which keeps coming up on social media about my father beating Zeenat Aman and her eye getting hurt, that’s all hogwash because my father hasn’t raised his hand on my mother or any of his daughters. He is not a violent man to raise a finger on a woman. And what I know of, is that mother told me that Miss Aman’s mother suffered from an eye disease. Her eye was also smaller. So, it was something genetic which happened to Miss Aman and not what was written. My mom is the most honest person and she told me that my father never raised his hand on Zeenat Aman. So, this nonsense about a part where my father beat her is bullshit. I am happy I can say this on camera today because I want to clarify this, that it is not true. My mother like me, would never lie.” She further spoke about Sanjay Khan’s affair with Zeenat Aman, almost breaking her parents’ marriage, she said, “Yes, it almost broke their marriage. But my mum was a very strong lady. She gave birth to Zayed at that point and she just took off for three months. She left Zayed behind with my dad and with all of us and she came back looking like a million bucks. And my dad was like, what happened there? And I think that was the shift when he realised that my mom was independent and she could just take off and do what she wants. She didn’t depend on him and that’s what brought him back. She conducted herself very lady-like. My mom isn’t someone who would speak badly of anyone.” Farah denied rumours of her mother also getting into the fight and beating up Zeenat Aman. She said, “Do you actually think my mother would get into a fight with any other woman and beat her? No, my mum’s not that. She is a very elegant person. So, this news is fake. Even when she spoke to us about it, she told us, ‘your father was attracted to her, so I just don’t blame her’. There was an attraction on both sides. May be at that point, there was something wrong with their marriage. But I do believe when she said that my father did not beat Zeenat Aman.” She further recalled an incident and said, “I vouch that because my father has never raised a finger at anyone. When he was younger, he would fight with anyone who abused in front of a woman, because he believed that you shouldn’t use foul words in front of a woman. There was a time I remember, we were at China Garden once and there was an actor, I will not take his name, but he got high and started abusing in front of women and children and my father fought with him. My father is someone who is very old school and who believes that women should be protected, respected, looked after so I would have to definitely refute that rumour and call it bullshit.” Confirming the rumours of Zeenat Aman and Sanjay Khan’s marriage, she said, “Yes, he had, at that point. There was a Muslim way to get married and they got divorced in the Muslim way as well. You’re asking the wrong person because I’m not the conventional Muslim person who knows the Muslim rules.” Farah said that she has never asked her father about it. “I didn’t ask him because I didn’t feel the need do. My mother had forgiven him and moved on. It’s like you’re saying that when I was married, Aqeel had an affair so my children should ask Aqeel about the affair. My relationship with my husband, shouldn’t be my children’s relationship with my husband. So, my mother’s relationship with my father shouldn’t define my relationship with my father,” she said.